Little is known of this shadowy region of Quel'Thalas. The blood elves applied the scorched earth policy to these woodlands, effectively giving the Scourge as pyrrhic a victory as possible. It is likely that vengeful phantoms of the battles with the Scourge and a majority of the undead remnants left over from the invasion of Quel'Thalas still linger here...as well as one of the most vile traitors to the elven people.

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According to Lands of Conflict, the high elves first landed in the Ghostlands (also known as the Blackened Woods), southwest of Silvermoon and north of Stratholme. Their fleet landed on the beaches of the kingdom men would later call Lordaeron. Forging inland, the high elves founded a settlement within the tranquil Tirisfal Glades. After a few years, many of them began to go mad. It was theorized that something evil slept beneath that particular part of the world, but the rumors were never proven to be true. The high elves packed up their encampment and moved northward towards another land rich with ley energies.

The Ghostlands is a rather dark and dreary place, with not even a glimmer of sun, even along the coast. It is a zone that reeks of death and undead activity. Most areas that are populated are in the center of the zone, including Tranquillien, Sanctum of the Sun, and Farstrider Enclave, though the area just outside Zul'Aman has a number of inhabitants. Many of the ruined villages have been taken by the undead, and a blackened scar runs the length of the zone from Eversong Woods in the north to Deatholme in the south. There are also a small number of night elf camps, though even these areas are gloomy and forlorn.

Thalassian Pass, connecting the Ghostlands to the Eastern Plaguelands, is the only way out of Quel'Thalas by land; all the other ways are by flight paths or teleportation. Notably, players trying to swim south by the shore into Eastern Plaguelands will find their way blocked by an invisible wall. This is because Quel'Thalas, like Azuremyst Isles, actually exists on the Outland map, presumably to make it easier to block players without The Burning Crusade. Quel'Thalas overlaps the old Eastern Kingdoms region to the northeast of the Eastern Plaguelands, which is where players attempting the reverse trick (swimming into Quel'Thalas) will find themselves: swimming along the shore, appearing on the world map as passing right through the Ghostlands.